Chemical leavening agents in dough products are convenient and effective substances for leavening, as an alternative to yeast. Yeast as a leavening agent requires a time-consuming proofing step, during which the yeast metabolically produces a gas that leavens the dough composition. Because yeasts are temperature sensitive they can become inactive at oven temperatures. Proofing normally take place prior to baking, and is generally considered a relatively time-consuming step.
Chemical leavening systems can be conveniently used instead of metabolically active yeast. Chemical leavening systems include reactive ingredients that react to produce a gas for leavening the dough. Depending on the chemistry of the reactive leavening agents, the reaction can take place at any desired and suitable temperature, such as in an oven at baking temperature. Chemical leavening systems can eliminate the need for a time-consuming pre-bake, metabolic proofing step required by yeast-leavened products, because chemical leavening work during baking. As a convenience, stored dough products can often be placed directly into the oven without the time consuming step of allowing yeast to leaven the dough.
Chemical leavening systems, as they are often included in refrigerator stable dough compositions, include generally two chemical leavening agents that chemically react to produce a gas that leavens and expands (or “proofs”) the dough. The two components typically include a basic component and an acidic component that react together to produce a gaseous reaction product that leavens the dough, preferably during baking.
While chemical leavening systems can be designed to react during baking, these components, in a dough composition, can sometimes react prematurely, at least to some degree, causing premature gas release and premature expansion of the dough composition. Premature reaction between the chemical leavening agents can occur if the two components come into contact with each other within the dough, generally at least in part because one or both of the components dissolves in the liquid component of the dough composition.
Different attempts have been made to prevent undesired, premature contact between chemical leavening agents. One technique is to encapsulate the chemical leavening components to produce a barrier between the chemical leavening agent and the liquid component of the dough composition. Another technique is to use chemical leavening agents that have low solubility at storage temperatures.
Encapsulated chemical leavening agents are known generally and include particles that contain particulates of solid chemical leavening agent coated or contained in a barrier material such as a room temperature solid fat. When encapsulated particles are included in a dough composition, incomplete or imperfect encapsulation of chemical leavening agent particulates or damage to the encapsulated particles can still allow premature contact between the chemical leavening agents and premature leavening of the dough composition. Premature leavening is undesirable, as it may occur during processing or during storage of a dough composition, e.g., after packaging, causing outgassing and expansion of the packaged dough product.
There is ongoing need for new chemically leavened dough compositions and methods for preparing them, especially dough compositions that have useful storage properties such as storage stability.